While I was in Paris, I went to La Grande Épicerie at Le Bon Marché for the first time. Much to Matt’s chagrin, I slowly meandered down each aisle, admiring rows of beautiful olive oils, yogurts, cheeses, an entire section dedicated to truffles, attempting to consume all of it with my eyes. I was in absolute food heaven – the freshness, the attention to detail, the quality of the products – I wanted to pack my bags and move into this beautiful, delicious place and never leave.

One particular aisle was comprised entirely of preserves and honey. I purchased some mountain flower honey {mostly for how beautifully it was packaged and its gorgeous amber color}, but was floored by how good it tasted – so subtly floral and fragrant – it made me realize that I have been eating very mediocre honey for too long. I knew I had to make something back at home to truly highlight this special ingredient. I decided upon a simple honey vanilla teacake – the sweet, floral notes of the honey and warm earthiness of the vanilla are perfect in this teacake, especially when topped with a delicious vanilla glaze and fresh raspberries and blackberries. This a delicious addition to any brunch or afternoon tea.

Recipes continued after the jump>>>

Recipes

Honey Vanilla Teacake

Makes 1 loaf cake

1/4 pound {1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 c. granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

2/3 cup buttermilk, at room temperature

1/2 vanilla bean

2 teaspoons honey

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour 1 loaf pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper.

Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for about 5 minutes, or until light and fluffy. With the mixer on medium speed, beat in the eggs, 1 at a time.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a jug, combine the buttermilk, seeds from vanilla bean and honey. Add the flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately to the batter, beginning and ending with the flour. Divide the batter evenly between the pans, smooth the tops, and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until a cake tester comes out clean.

When the cake is done, let it cool for 10 minutes. Take them out of the pans, place them on a baking rack and allow them to cool completely. Drizzle with icing {recipe below} and top with fresh berries, if desired.

Vanilla Glaze

1 1/2 c. confectioners’ sugar

2 1/2 teaspoons milk

Pinch of salt

1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 teaspoon unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Food coloring {if desired}

Mix all ingredients {other than food coloring} until creamy and desired consistency is reached. If the mixture is too thick, add a little more milk. Stir in food coloring, if using.

Haha… reading your experience at La Grande Épicerie at Le Bon Marché made me laugh!!! I am exactly the same in amazing food markets and stores. Aaron just looks at me and laughs, as I normally have this overwhelmed, food-nerd type expression on my face! Glad you found some gorgeous produce, including this lovely honey. I’ve bought a few special honeys when overseas but I’ve had them confiscated at Australian quarantine. As it’s a raw, floral product they think it will mess with our agriculture (one of the primary elements of our economy… but like I would pour it on the ground in a field! Ridiculous!). I reckon it’s all been eaten by the fat customs gentlemen at the airport… sigh! Anyway, gorgeous honey teacake recipe. I need to make this with some wild thyme honey that I managed to sneak over in my suitcase from New Zealand. It’s absolutely gorgeous! Thanks for the beautiful recipe. Gorgeous photos as always xx

Heehee – I love your story about trying to smuggle honey back to Australia! How annoying! I guess the US is just much more lax about such things! Oooh, and the thyme honey you found sounds incredible! I wonder if there is a way to incorporate it into a cocktail? Thanks so much for stopping by Laura! xo

It’s soooo delicious, it has a really heavy, fragrant flavour. I imagine it’d be perfect in a citrusy cocktail, possibly with gin? I’d need to experiment! And I wish Australia would be more lax. We can’t even take fruit across state border crossings (I once ate three oranges in ten minutes in angry defiance to a border crossing guard who told me to throw them out. In hindsight, I should have just thrown them out. Silly me!). And it’s my pleasure Lindsay. I love everything you write xo

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